Ty Perich, a 14th Fighter Squadron F-16 pilot. “DACT training is beneficial for a myriad of reasons,” explained U.S. The monthly training builds understanding and support between the two nations, instilling personal confidence and developing trust in their counterparts’ capabilities. The use of different air frames furthers the learning process. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 pilots lent to demonstrating and ultimately enhancing their monthly bilateral dissimilar air combat tactics training, April 12.ĭissimilar air combat tactics operations provide a realistic application of fighter tactics and serve to develop a high level of tactical skills for all combat aircrews. If it was real red flames, you knew he'd had it.MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan - Working alongside a counterpart creates an unbreakable bond, a positive relationship, and inspires creativity. You couldn't bother to wait for them to splash, but you could tell if they were flaming really good and you saw something besides smoke. … I kept counting the number of airplanes that I knew I'd gotten in flames going down. We were weaving continuously, and I got a head-on shot at him, and just about the time I saw this guy coming, (another pilot) Ram said, 'There's a Zero on my tail.' The Zero wasn't directly astern, more like 45 degrees, beginning to follow him around, which gave me the head-on approach. "I got a good shot at two of them and burned them, and one of them had made a pass at my wingman, pulled out to the right, and then came back. It didn't look like my weave was working, but then it began to work," Thach recalled of battling Japanese Zero fighters. "The air was like a beehive, and I wasn't sure at that moment that anything would work. Pilots first employed the tactic, eventually nicknamed the "Thach Weave," at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Legendary contributions to fighter tactics - both in the air and on screen
This forced the enemy to choose one section to pursue, which eventually set up an opportunity for the other section to shoot the enemy off the tails of their squadron mates. When observing enemy fighters about to attack, the sections turned toward each other and engaged in a weave. What emerged was a defensive tactic in which two sections, each consisting of two airplanes, operated together. In the age before computer simulations, he used his kitchen table as a canvas and matches to represent airplanes, experimenting with formations and maneuvers.
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Thach set out to figure out how to maximize the American aircraft's strengths - ruggedness and firepower - to counter the Japanese fighter in the event of war. Its name was the Zero and its capabilities presented a challenge to the F4F Wildcats in the U.S. Intelligence emerging from the actions in the Far East included reports of a fighter aircraft with amazing speed and maneuverability. On a more serious side, Thach paid close attention to world events, particularly the rise of Japan and its war with China. The film, whose stars included Clark Gable, hit the silver screen in 1931.
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When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pitched the movie "Hell Divers," the "High Hats" played a starring role, their F8C-4 Helldivers sometimes wielding 80-pound cameras to capture some of the maneuvers, including a roll as one of the airplanes flew toward a hangar at NAS San Diego. As is the case today, the Navy of Thach's era was also happy to highlight its capabilities in front of the camera. He had his own brush with Hollywood when assigned to his first squadron, the "High Hats." They were famous in the aviation-crazed era with their performances at air shows making formation flights with the wings of their aircraft tied together. ► 80 years later, threads of Pearl Harbor attack reflect fabric of our national story ► Pensacola welcomes Navy's first aircraft carrier with 'open arms' in 1920s ► 'Solid symbol of United States strength': USS Nimitz introduced an enduring era
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